Automobile lift superstructure



Filed June 8, 1959 Oct. 17, 1961 J E CLARKE AUTOMOBILE LIFT SUPERSTRUCTURE f S55-216s 3,004,631 AUTOMOBILE LIFT SUPERSTRUCTURE Y:tt-,sse E. Clarke, magnate, nl., assigner to Aumquip Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed `lune 8, 1959, Ser. No. 818,916 6 Claims. (Cl. IS7-8.77)

This invention relates to automobile lift superstructure more particularly for use by service stations and the like for hoisting by the wheels automobiles and trucks to provide access to the underparts thereof as for greasing and `other services.

Heretofore hazards have been encountered in the use of such superstructures by danger of the vehicles rolling o l. the superstructure drive-on runway in the elevated position of the lift thereby sometimes causing great damage to property as well as even serious injury to personnel. Mechanical chocks or other safety appliances have been employed to eliminate such dangers, but such appliances have been found unreliable both by reason of negligence of the attendants in putting them into operation and by mechanical failures.

Animportant object of the present invention is the provision of safety features built into the superstructure runway itself which do not require mechanical adjustments and which are thereby positive and fool-proof in operation and ei'riciency.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, showing an illustrative embodiment thereof, and in which drawings- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lift having drivepn runways constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of a runway, broken away intermediately to save space; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section, further enlarged, taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. 1. Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown 1n the drawings, the numeral 11 indicates the usual vertical ram or pistion of hydraulic hoist mechanism that may be conventional and need not be here further de scribed. Carried transversely on the upper end of the piston 11 is a bolster 12. The bolster 12 supports a pair of longitudinally extending drive-on runways 13 which are constructed left and right, one mounted at each end of the bolster through the intermediation of girder sub-frames 14, one for each runway.

Each runway has a proximal end 15 and a distal end 16, the proximal end being the end upon which the car is first driven and then run onto the runway until its front wheels are at -the distal end of the runway.

In accordance with the present invention, the proximal end 15 of each runway is inclined upwardly as indicated at 17 (FIG. 2), this inclination being upward toward an intermediate portion of the runway indicated by the numeral 18, that is here shown horizontal or flat. Then, further in accordance with the present invention, the distal end 16 of the runway is inclined downwardly from the horizontal portion 18 as indicated at 19, the downwar-d inclination 19 being desirably at a greater angle to the horizontal than the upward inclination 17.

Still following the present invention, between the horizontal portion 13 and the downwardly inclined distal end 19 is located on each runway a roll-over detent here shown in the form of a rib 20. As best seen in FIG. 2, the rib 20 has an upward inclination 21 facing the horizontal portion of the runway 18 and a downward inclination 22 facing the downward inclination 19 ofthe runway, the downward inclination 22 being substantially steeper than the upward inclination 21.

At the distal extremity of the runway there is xed 3,004,631 Patented Oct. 17, 1961A N fit:

a permanent stop element in the form of an upstanding plate 23 that at its upper end is slightly tilted in the distal direction, as at 24.

Along the inner side of each of the runways 13 is formed an integral upstanding ange 25 that is turned outwardly at 26. The anges 2S serve as guides for driving the car onto the lift and this further facilitated by a ramp plate 27 for each runway that is hinged to the runway at its proximal end, as at 28 so as to accommodate itself to the level of the floor to which the lift is lowered in the down position of the lift. For further strengthening the runway, the outer margin of each is turned downwardly as at 29 in the direction of the girder 14.

To provide enhanced traction for the car wheels, the proximal surface of the lift of each runway carries a roughened or ant-friction facing 30 and the ramp plate 27 a similar facing 31.

When, now, a car is driven onto the lift in its lowermost position, the front wheels of the car, indicated schematically in FIG. 2 at 32, ride up the ramps 27 onto the upwardly inclined surfaces 17 of the runways, then onto the horizontal surfaces 18, up the inclined surfaces 21 of the detent ribs 2d, then down the surfaces 22 of the latter, and onto the downwardly inclined surfaces 19 of the runways, until they come to rest against the permanent stops 23. The rear wheels 33 of the vehicle, similarly indicated, follow but remain on the upwardly inclined surface 17 of the runway. Because of the greater downward inclination of the surface 19 and also the greater weight of the car at its forward end, the force of gravity tends to continue to move the vehicle forwardly on the lift, so that there is no tendency for the vehicle to roll back on the lift whereby it might fall olf when the lift is elevated to its uppermost position to permit the work or greasing to be done on the underparts of the vehicle. The detent rib 20 further guards against the car rolling backward. Forward movement of the car is positively prevented by the permanent fixed stop members 23, the front wheel 32 being thereby trapped between the rib 20 and the stop 24, with the tendency to roll forward to the stop 23. As seen in FIGURE 2, the space between detent 20 and stop member 23 is such, however, that a car may be rolled on its wheels a limited distance between the two to facilitate the servicing of the car.

So constructed and arranged, a safe superstructure support is provided for the vehicle while still maintaining the advantages of a roll-on lift in which the car is driven directly onto the lift and supported by its wheels, the operation of the safety features hereof being positive and foolproof, without reliance upon the human factor.

The invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

What is here claimed is:

1. In automobile lift superstructure having a longitudinal support runway for receiving the front and rear wheels thereon and having a proximal end for supporting a rear wheel and a distal end for supporting a front wheel, that improvement therein wherein said proximal end has a surface downwardly inclined toward the proximal extremity of the beam member and the distal end has a surface downwardly inclined toward the distal extremity of the runway at a steeper angle than the inclination of the proximal surface, an intermediate substantially horizontal surface joining said downwardly inclined surfaces, a limited opstanding transverse roll-over detent rib element at the juncture between said horizontal surface and said downwardly inclined distal surface, said rib element extending upwardly from said surfaces, and an upstanding permanently xed stop element at the distal extremity, said stop element upstanding substantially higher than said rollover rib element, said detent rib element and said stop element being spaced from each other a distance such that the wheel of a car on the runway will only contact one of the two at a time and the car may be rolled on its wheels back and forth between the two.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the rib element iS of triangular cross section having an upwardly inclined surface on its proximally facing side and a downwardly inclined surface on its distally facing side, said downwardly inclined surface being at a steeper angle than said upwardly inclined surface.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the stop element has an upper end tilted in a distal direction.

4. The `structure of claim 1 wherein there is a ramp member hinged to said proximal end.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein the ramp member and the proximal end inclined surface carry anti-friction facings.

6. In automobile lift superstructure having longitudinal support runways for receiving the front and rear wheels thereon, each runway having a proximal end for supporting a rear wheel and a distal end for supporting a front wheel, that improvement therein wherein the distal end has a surface downwardly inclined toward the distal extremity of the runway, an upstanding transverse rollover detent between the proximal end and said surface,

4 said detent being generally triangular in shape with the apex of the triangle upwardly, the distal side of said detent being inclined more steeply than is the side of the detent facing the proximal end of the runway, and a permanently fixed vstop element at the distal extremity of each runway, whereby a front wheel is received on said downwardly inclined surface between said detent and said stop, said detent and said stop element being spaced from each other a distance such that the wheel of a car on the runway will only contact one of the two at a time and the car may be rolled on Aits wheels back and forth between the two. 1

References Cited in the tile of this patent 

